A WORD

"Might I have a word?"
       I hear this phrase over and over as I watch English dramas.
              "Might I have a word."                                                        A WORD

I'm fascinated by that phrase yet I don't know why.
It seems quite obvious regarding content but the phrase seems awkward to me as an America.
I guess I might say, "May I speak with you for a moment."

So, what am I rambling about?
A WORD
WORD
It reminds me of the first scripture I memorized, "In the beginning was the WORD and the WORD was with God and the WORD was God . . . and the WORD became flesh and dwelt among us . . . " John 1: 1,14.

In Genesis, God SAID . . . and life began.
Just a WORD or two and voila, creation!                                              WORD

So, "may I have a WORD" can be a pretty profound statement.

It all comes down to the fact that words are powerful.
Time to share words is precious.
Permission to speak words to another is taken seriously.
In other 'words' WORDS are important.
WORDS can define who we are, how we think, what we desire, our daily perspective on life.
WORDS . . . A WORD.

So, when my friend asked me what WORD I had selected for the year, I had to think for awhile.
A WORD?
Just ONE WORD?
It's almost as awkward as saying, "Might I have a word."

And so I stop.
I think awhile.
I list all the words I have lived by over the years.
My 'life' word is GRACE.
A word I glued myself to for a number of years has been TRUST.
A word-phrase I use almost too often is BE PREPARED.
Then I recall my desire simply to BE.
These are all good words.
Yet, if I am to select ONE WORD to focus on for the entire year, I have to return to the very first  word that hit me between the eyes when I was trying to understand my Christian walk.

ABIDE
A continuous active verb.
To cling to, to remain attached, to stick with . . .                             ABIDE
Once I choose to ABIDE I cannot stop.
Of course I can choose with whom or with what I am to ABIDE.

35 years ago (gee, that seems long) I made a choice to ABIDE in Christ Jesus.
I have not wavered from that commitment yet someone might say I have pretty much figured out how to ABIDE.

Yet, just clinging to the Lord thy God is only the first step.
To truly ABIDE takes a lifetime of learning to remain focused on God's precious presence in my life.
True ABIDING is a process that will not be complete until I am with my Lord beyond this earthly existence.

Words motivate our future
Fill a bucket with motivating words

To begin to truly focus on ABIDING for only a year seems pithy .
Yet, I can try, for one year, to figure out how I am clinging to my God each day, each week, each month.

I can take time to focus and refocus on the words of John 15. . .
:4  "ABIDE in me (says Jesus) and I will ABIDE in you. . . "
:5 (Jesus said,) I am the vine and you are the branches.  If you ABIDE in me and I ABIDE in you, you will bear much fruit ..."
:7  "If you ABIDE in me and my WORD ABIDES in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you."

So, I guess, "Might I have a word" really has expanded into something for my mind to cling to for the rest of this year.
How about you, "MIGHT YOU HAVE A WORD?"

WHATEVER

Whatever ...
Is this what our language, our sense of expression, our articulation of feelings is coming to?
Whatever?
Listen to the tone of voice when this word is expressed.
It begins with a lofty higher note and then our voice drops into oblivion.      Whatever
Is that what our spirit is saying?
Begin on a high note and then simply give up?
Whatever . . .

Perhaps this word is a new way to represent the feeling that, 'I will go along to get along.'
I will simply add my personal insight and when I meet with a roadblock I will go hide in a corner.
Whatever . . .

I love this sprinkle of sun on crisp snow.

Lately I have been waking up to a bit of sunshine piercing through the crack in the bedroom curtain.
That means the days are getting longer.
I actually see light!
Yet, almost as soon as that tiny spark of golden-yellow meets my eyes, it is gone.
Whatever ...
As soon as my spirit lifts in delight in hopes that the day will be sunny all day, the lingering clouds float past any hope of sparkle.
My high hope plunges downward as fast as the gray sets in.
Another gray day.
Whatever ...

This might be a gray day but only in winter can I see all
the buildings of our neighbor's farm.  It is like a
Currier and Ives painting that comes alive.

I give in.
I go to my corner.
I linger into nothingness . . . for a moment.
And then . . .
      And then . . .
              Hope springs eternal . . .
                     Whatever . . .  turns into determination.
I am determined to make this day come alive . . .  sparkle . . . become a memory that lingers in my heart.
How do I do that?
Choice
Determination
Perseverance

I CHOOSE to overcome these cloudy days by pure will power.
I consciously evaluate my choices.
I can either remain paralyzed by the gray and cold or I can rise above my physical and emotional discomfort.
I choose to look on the bright side of things.
I choose to not disintegrate into tiny pieces just because the weather does not meet my desires.

I become DETERMINED to maintain that 'upward' tone rather than linger in the lower depths of my negative attitude.
I become determined to change my voice.
I am determined to change 'whatever' into curiosity, into a high note of my day.

I CHOOSE to be DETERMINED to PERSEVERE . . . with a positive attitude . . . no matter how many gloomy days greet me shortly after waking each morning.

I will persevere in changing 'whatever' into 'what' . . .  into curiosity . . . forever.
What is my day going to look like?
What might I learn today?
What ways can I ever be of greater help to others today?
What ever are the possibilities if I ask for God's help in leading me each day?

My 'winter' garden, safely growing inside.

With God's help, how could my voice ever drop into oblivion?
How could I hide in a corner and mope?

A voice within me murmurs, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. . . "
That voice sounds positive.
That voice ends the sentence strong and does not allow my sense of well-being to hide in a corner.
That voice is God working in and through me as I remember His Word.
How could I possibly not resist singing high notes when I know God is with me throughout each day?

My hubby loves to play tunes
to old hymns on a gray day.

How could I not linger a little longer with a positive song on a cloudy, cold day?
God helps me choose.
God helps me remain determined.

Read Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts
 to learn about giving THANKS to God daily
Also go to her blog: aholyexperience.com

God helps me persevere until I can return to digging in the dirt.


WHATEVER I do I will give thanks to God.
That's why I write out at least three graces, three thanks each day.
 See my blog: dailygracesfromgod.blogspot.com
Instead of saying, 'whatever', I choose to give 'thanks forever' for the graces I receive each day.

AHAAAAAA

Although the Christmas season officially ended on Epiphany,  January 6, I keep my little box in plain sight that says, "I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year."
 Wouldn't that be fun!
Yet, like the tree that by now has shed most of its needles and is lying somewhere waiting to be recycled, we might feel pretty ready to 'recycle' this wild season of giving and receiving, of food and fun, of celebrating with friends and family.
That's what is so wonderful about the changing seasons.
We can shift gears.
We can look forward to new discoveries based upon our past experiences.
Perhaps that's why we make resolutions for the new year.
We want to build new structures upon our old base.

As I linger a little longer with my daily reflections, I do wonder if those astronomers looking for a new king were just like us.
Perhaps their expectation was to begin anew, make new discoveries, start fresh with a new leader.
Perhaps they expected to find what they were looking for and bring this 'new hope' back to their home base.

Yet, they had an 'epiphany' . . .  an 'ahaaaa' experience when they 'discovered' Emmanuel, God with us.
Their entire life-focus changed.
They came.

They saw.
They understood.

Their expectation made a dramatic turn as they returned home via a different route in order to protect the One they honored.

They returned empty handed . . .
    Or did they?
Leaving gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh shows me that something profound happened that caused these men to change.
They came home filled to the brim with an 'aha' experience, an epiphany!

I, personally, cannot turn on a dime like that.
I would need to mull over the situation, linger over the ramifications, study, wonder.
I would need to "sit on it' awhile.
'Epiphany' takes me a loooooooong time for some reason.
Yet, I too had a personal 'aha' experience with God through the power of the Holy Spirit years ago.
I still wonder, discover and continue to build on past experiences with my Emmanuel.

What joy I feel to look forward to another day of questioning, lingering a little longer over a passage of scripture and actually 'getting it'.

I may have read the same passage a thousand times and even reflected upon it several different ways.

Yet, I seem to always be surprised when I see the same words from a different perspective.

That's why I remain motivated to stick with daily my scripture reading.

I come into my quiet place.

I see words that seem to come alive in new ways each time I read them.

I gain new understanding that aids my daily journey.

These small 'aha' experiences seem to make my day.

I feel refreshed.

I'm energized to head into the day with renewed energy.
. . . until the next day
 . . .  when I seek more understanding
 . . . in order to renew that sense of Epiphany.

God with us, Emmanuel.
Like the little box, He will remain with me through all the year . . .  forever.